Two words seem predominant in today’s culture: resilience and courage. Two years into a global pandemic and in the middle of a climate crisis, these values are part of the solution to transform our life and our world. After all, humanity is filled with people and institutions of courage, and it takes resilience to keep going. When researching for this blog post topic (the relative merits of incremental versus transformative adaptation), a dusty book by Stan Chung sitting on my bookshelf reminded me of transformational learning, also defined as a shift in consciousness. In his reflection, Chung mentions that an excellent system part of a transformation “can sometimes look like it is in continual conflict” (p.97, 2011). He also describes transformational learning as a way to set humans free. Free in climate action work can be a synonym for facilitating change. Could his notion apply to business and adaptation strategies in climate action? The following lines explore the answer.

To better compare incremental and transformative adaptation, we shall look at their definition. Consultant and researcher Nick Brooks summarizes, “Put simply, incremental adaptation is about protecting ‘business as usual’ in the face of climate change” (2017) in contrast to “adaptation that changes the fundamental attributes of a system in response to climate and its effects” known as a transformational adaptation per the IPCC (2017). The author gives the example of agriculture in the Sahara region, where the limits of incremental adaptation are being reached due to severe and rapid climate change; innovation becomes necessary to secure survival in this region.

Both these adaptation methods have strengths and limitations. When a system reaches its limits or can no longer perform as before, it is time to think outside the box and see the greater picture. Sometimes, repetitively re-applying the same principles does not work, which means, in this case, that they do not lead to change. “Without at least considering transformative choices, adaptation remains limited to protecting existing systems properties, even where these are associated with the structural causes of risk, which can build pressure for eventual, catastrophic system collapse.” (Pelling, 2015, p.115)

From a student standpoint, society likes black or white statements, and humans do not seem to do well in uncertainty! Expressing a personal opinion on this topic can be compared to a set of scales. I believe in fighting the status quo and not allowing governments and people of power to stay passive in the face of climate change. I also acknowledge that systems are hard to move because a particular structure is in place to protect stability. Transformation in practice might affect the poorest and systems with a fragile foundation (Pelling, 2015, p. 123); it can be a barrier to agree with it knowing these potential consequences fully. However, sustainable development and social justice being at the core of my values, I tend to vote for transformative adaptation. Having thousands of climate action leaders involved in climate change in the world right now is the hope the world needs to see actions being done for the benefit of all. If more research and practice occur with transformative adaptation in regions where they need it the most, lessons and frameworks can arise to quickly transition in the coming years, reducing some uncertainty and risks associated with this original way of applying adaptation. In addition, transformational adaptation requires transdisciplinary approaches (Lonsdale et al., 2015, p.5), aligning with what climate leaders use to create change and what our program here at Royal Roads University encourages us to exploit.

One tool offered to deal with the source of actual failures because there is a desire for sustainable development is called transformative adaptation (Pelling, 2015, p.115). Transformational adaptation can be part of a powerful toolkit to enable us – citizens and climate action leaders – to build a better future and a new normal. We shall all use courage and resilience to aim in that direction.

 

References

Brooks, N. (2017, May 9). Transformational adaptation – when business as usual no longer works. Garama 3C – climate change training blog. https://garama-training.com/tag/incremental-adaptation/

Chun, S. (2011). Global citizen : River of love and other essays. Okanagan Institute.

Lonsdale, K., Pringle, P. & Turner, B. (2015). Transformative adaptation: what it is, why it matters & what is needed. UK Climate Impacts Programme. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:40000abd-74a0-4a3e-8e73-34374852474c/download_file?file_format=pdf&safe_filename=UKCIP-transformational-adaptation-final.pdf&type_of_work=Report

Pelling, M., O’Brien, K., & Matyas, D. (2015).  Adaptation and transformation.  Climatic Change, 133.  113- 127. DOI 10.1007/s10584-014-1303-0